Ill. Facility Receives OSHA’s Top Safety Recognition

Monsanto’s Research Facility in Waterman, Illinois, has received the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) Star certification – the agency’s top safety classification.

The certification was presented to the people at the Monsanto Waterman site during a special ceremony that included U.S. Speaker of the House J. Dennis Hastert, as well as OSHA’s Acting Assistant Secretary Jonathan Snare and OSHA officials, and Monsanto management from the company’s headquarters in St. Louis.

“The Monsanto facility operates an excellent safety and health management program that results in this site having injury and illness rates far below the national average,” said Snare. “We believe that the cooperation between management and employees at this site is key to their success and we hope the entire industry will seek to emulate their effort.”

The Monsanto Company is a global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that reportedly improve farm productivity and food quality.

To earn the Star designation, a site must undergo a rigorous OSHA audit showing that its safety programs and practices reach high levels of excellence. The location must also have an accident rate that is below the rest of the industry.

The OSHA VPP Star audit team completed a final inspection of the Waterman site including one-on-one interviews with employees that confirmed all employees were positively involved with aspects of safety and with team involvement in safety performance.